Reviews (page 3 of 7)
These are songs written to accompany plays by Berthold Brecht. They are strident and very theatrical. I think the interpretation was probably exactly what the composer and lyricist intended. But give me Kurt Weil for Brecht. Not something I want to hear again. This one isn’t on Spotify so nothing to add to my playlist.
Not for me. I don’t have the time to deep dive this, so a 2
A talented singer paying homage to a composer she clearly has great respect for. But as a listening experience this isn't great. It sounds like they've taken 1-2 min slices of songs from a dozen unrelated musicals. It doesn't feel cohesive and the songs are so short I barely had time to understand what was happening before we moved on to the next one. Not terrible but I didn't enjoy it at all.
DNF
I tried listening to it on YouTube but didn’t care for it at all.
Not really my thing. Very theatrical. Most of the songs didn't appear to go anywhere although one or two were interesting such as The Trenches, which reminded me of Army Dreamers by Kate Bush.
Two 1s in three days - is this a new record?? This was painful.
I liked the music on the ads between tracks on YouTube better than this album.
I made it halfway. I get it.
Angry German later sings and talks over marching music. Occasionally takes a break and sings something pretty. There have been two types of albums I haven’t liked in this project. Ones I can’t vibe with thematically and ones I find unpleasant to listen to - this is the later.
Another album that's impossible to listen to... finally found that someone has all the songs on YouTube, but there's enough actually good music to listen to that the effort should not be invested in finding this record. This is not good.
Returning to this list for the first time in a bit and back with a banger /s
Pretty cool--I always liked Brecht songs and this is a nice collection. I'm not sure if it's essential though!
Did not enjoy this.
I wonder if 1 full hour of German Cabaret Jazz is listed as a torture method somewhere.
47/100. The record is essentially a collection of politically and socially charged songs by Hanns Eisler, performed by Krause in English. It is definitely an unusual listen, and I found it quite interesting from that perspective. That said, while I appreciate the concept and the ambition behind it, I cannot say I found it particularly good overall.
Better than a lot of others on here. Not going to listen to it again though
Very interesting, but I don't think I'd listen to it more than once.
Curious
Oof I wanted to like this but found it a very tough to make it through. If I wanted to listen to German showtunes I'd turn on a dubbed version of Chicago. In all seriousness I really did not enjoy most of this. But there were a few fleeting moments of intrigue die to her voice and the composition which were relatively moving. That and I appreciate that I hadn't heard this before. Still, though, not for me overall. 2/5
Could not find album
what the hell is going on here, kinda cool to listen to the one time Will I listen to again: 0%
Favorite track(s): Mother's Hands, The Trenches I'll respect it for pushing my boundaries. I'm not big on musical theater/cabaret to begin with, but it's made somewhat awkward on top by the translations. A few glimpses of interesting arrangement. Overall, pretty bizarre. I'll take my Dagmar with Henry Cow or Slapp Happy instead.
I’m really not sure how to rate and review this. This is a collection of pre-war German songs written by Hanns Eisler that were largely translated into English and recorded in the late 80s by Dagmar Krause for this recording. Eisler worked closely with Bertolt Brecht; both of them were banned by the Nazi party and went into exile, with Eisler ending up in the United States, where he later was blacklisted and deported by the House Un-American Activities Committee. This all feels very relevant at the moment. Musically, and I’m not an expert here, but this sounds a lot like how I’d imagine cabaret music to sound, and while that’s far out of my field of musical comfort, there were a few moments that I liked on an initial listen. Krause is an excellent singer, and the recording is nicely atmospheric and evocative with some avant garde flourishes to keep it from feeling overly anachronistic. Part of my listening to these 1001 albums is to hear things that I wouldn’t otherwise come across, and this very much fits into that, and I’m appreciative of it. I’m not sure this is something I would find myself frequently listening to, and that it’s not available on any streaming services means that this possibility is pretty much closed anyway, but it broadened my musical horizons.
what am I listening to? Kind of Kurt Weill... ah, right, Eisler: kind of.
This is like your elderly, possibly mildly demented grossmutter decides to start singing show tunes. Whilst the voice is very good, the music is definitely not anything that I would choose to listen to and the songs, whilst witty at times, are mostly pretty rudimentary. I do find it quite amazing that someone funded this to be produced in 1988, full of songs from the 1920s, and here we are being forced (admittedly of our own volition) to listen to it nearly 40 years later. I would give this 1 star except her voice is really pretty good, shame about the rest of it.
# Album Name: Tank Battles # Artist: Dagmar Krause # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Today i learned it was not the doors who sung alabama boy. Nice vocals. Some interesting sounds. Definitely off the beaten track. Sadly, this was way too long for me. It would have been a 3 if shorter. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No
Never cared for cabaret (not even Brecht-affiliated) It was all the rage in the eighties it seems like.
Ok. I can appreciate something different. It's not for me though.
I’m not sure if this was for a soundtrack or what.
Niet op spotify, gedeeltelijk via YouTube geluisterd maar was niet de moeite waard.
spotify wouldn’t let me listen
Interesting album this one, theatrical or what?
Bad.
Bizarre avant-garde
yea no
German style, nothing very interresting in this album, and I was quit borred.
3/5
It’s like German wartime music. It’s like really terrible. It’s like really annoying. It’s like maybe one of the worst albums I have heard. It’s like I turned it off halfway through. 1/10
It was a surprise to see it wasn't even on Spotify but I enjoy the dramatic-ness of it
bizarre
While I completely understand why people can’t stand this record I just find this to be one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever heard. Is it going anywhere near my all time favorite albums? No, absolutely the fuck not, but the avant garde musical style made its presence known to me. And when a record does that, it’s at the very least not something that I can call one of the worst albums of all time.
Couldn't listen
I have a soft spot for this kind of German cabaret music. Maybe it's because the songs by Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill were popularized by Bowie, Scott Walker and likes. This also reminds me of Tom Waits also, which is not a bad thing at all.
Very dramatic and theatrical stuff. Not my cup of anything, but I think this is somehow a meaningful album — I just don’t get it.
Feels very operatic in its delivery, songs are a bit like chanson (or what I think chanson is) and the stories they tell seem quite dark. As far as the music goes it's not my thing and I don't actually understand this type of music. I'm not at all lyrics person and this is all stories, also the songs end quite abtruptly. Feels like this is one of those "no rating" albums, but I'll give it a 2/5 as it's not bad and for "stronk completionist gene" reasons.
It feels weird to hate on this because it's so far out of my wheelhouse, but wow, this was a rough listen.
What a bizarre and surprising record. And I mean that in a good way. It came out in 1988 but sounds like something from an imagined, dystopian future. Or past, maybe? Whatever. I can't work this record out at all - it's left me completely baffled, and that's great. Do I like it though? I really don't know. I think after a few listens, I'm either going to love it or hate it, which again, is a good thing. Certainly a record (and artist) I will be returning to.
An enjoyable listen of something quite unexpected. Not something I know much, if anything, about. A Brechtian kind of music hall performance? This is one of those things which when it pops up on the list I am keen not to read anything about before I listen to it and then plan to have a dive into just who is Dagmar Krause? It's not something which I will return to, perhaps ever, but glad I have listened
Great Songs: Song of a German Mother, The Homecoming Good Songs: The Song of the Whitewash, (I Read About) Tank Battles, Chanson Allemande, The Ballad of the Sackslingers, Ballade von der belebenden Wirkung des Geldes (The Song of the Invigorating Impact of Cash), Mankind, Change The World - It Needs It, Bankenleid, Ballad of (Bourgeois) Welfare, Mother's Hands, Berlin 1919, And I Shall Never See Again, The Wise Woman and The Soldier, UUnd Endlich Stibt (Hanns Eisler), The Rat Men - Nightmare, The Trenches (Hanns Eisler) Mid Songs: You Have To Pay, Mother Beimleim, The Perhaps Song, Bettellied, Legende von der Entstehung des Buches Taoteking, Genevieve Ostern ist ein Ball sue Seine, Failure in Loving (Hanns Eisler), To A Little Radio Bad Songs:
Important songs—beautifully sung by Krause. So good.
German Edith Piaf from the ‘80s
I can respect thsi as a reference to and for a specific culture, but I can't see how it should be on this list or how it touches or affects the larger musical landscape, unless maybe some composers and writers of musicals consider this a "hidden gem."
Ich interessiere mich heute viel weniger für den Marxismus als in meiner Jugend.
ciekawy experience ktorego nie powtorze.
(It's on YouTube if you're looking). Strangely compelling, cold war Marxist torch songs.
Weird girl German history album
Putting this on the glad I heard it, get why it's on the list, won't be listening again category
I don't think I'm the target audience for this. Feels like "WWII on Ice" or something. Not overly bummed that I won't be re-listening to this on Spotify
Not crazy about musical theatre or most things avant garde. Appreciate the historical elements
This is an educational album giving a flavour of what German cabaret sounded like during the World Wars and inter-war periods. The English translation of several tracks will annoy purists but it helps position the songs and drive home the meaning for English speaking listeners. I don’t spend much time listening to musical theatre, what I’ve connected with has been contemporary and pop influenced, so this is a taste stretcher for me which I failed to connect with beyond taking a curious historical interest. It’s amazing to think that the gap between today and this album’s release is only slightly less than that of this album’s release and the end of World War Two. How the world has changed!
I actually really enjoyed Dagmar Krause’s Tank Battles. I don’t know enough about German history or the genres she blends to understand it within it’s context but I enjoyed that it went to so many different places, had some very interesting rhythms and melodys and very arresting vocals Going high 3 on this surprisingly
Before: Here's something I have never heard. I have no idea what to expect. Based on the album cover, I'm guessing some kind on German opera? During: Was hard to find this but did find it on YouTube music, so I had to listen to ads. After : Well, that was interesting. I'll give it a 3.
I don't know what the guy that made this list was smoking, but he needs to share!
So this was unexpected. I like to think I'm doing this project to open my mind to new things and this was a winner in this regard. But I am also (and more) doing this to find new music I want to hear again. And in this regard, a miss. Great job transporting me back to 1920's Germany. Can't think when I'd ever put this on. Vocals were strong. 2/5
Hated the vocals Hated the instrumentals Hated the album Hated life listening to it
Chances are, if it's not available on streaming services in 2026, it's not historically important enough. Which is the primary measure of inclusion for albums on this list. To think that music critics were compiling a perfectly good list, consisting of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Queen... then some Berlinese Gen X-er (likely smoking crack and living with his parents) bumps his elbow on the keyboard and accidentally appends Tank Battles by Dagmar Krause to the final draft of 1001albums.docx. There's nothing good, and hardly anything interesting. Sure, orchestral instruments are used. But they're used in a drearily uninteresting fashion, not even trying to stand out or create anything musically revolutionary. The music itself is so, so unimpressive and uninspiring for the year 1988. Still, I want to make excuses for it, give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the music was actually recorded in the 50s and written in the mid-19th century. That would make sense, sort of. (The recording quality suggests as much.) But then we come to realise, again, the outrageous lack of 19th-century (or any-era) classical music. And anything by Beethoven or Brahms or Tchaikovsky would far surpass this weak operatic nonsense. And some of it is heinously difficult to listen to. Mother Beimleim makes up some of the worst 75 seconds of noise to ever be recorded. Speaking of which – this is *long*. Or at least it feels that way. The Wikipedia article doesn't give a total track length for the English version (and I'm not doing the math), but man, every time I thought I'd reached the end, another 1-2 minutes of bad vibrato and stupid, uninspired, old-timey European instrumentation makes itself known. (And sometimes, just when you think "god, at least this is only a minute long," it turns out it's actually 6 minutes.) 1/5 Key tracks: The Trenches
As a fan of the avant-garde, I was excited to sink my teeth into this one. Nonetheless, I am not going to pretend that I have this innate understanding of this record. It runs like a quick stage play with its short songs backed by dramatic compositions. The singing is laden with vibrato and longing, but the overall experience is so so. I respect the sentiment and uniqueness, but I can’t sit here and truly convince myself that this is anything above a 3/10 or 1/5.
This album needs a movie!
Nah.
Could not listen
Not necessarily my thing but good for what it is. Remember that game Tanks on Wii Play?
listen im as big of a fan of the weimar republic as anyone but some things I wonder if they're best left in the past
I'll never listen to this again, but, it's a very unique album. I did love the strangeness of it.
this is fine, I guess. It just sounds like I'm listening to a soundtrack to a musical, but I'm not too interested in the story. Probably won't listen to it again
Overall: 6/10 I don't understand why this is so hated. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but she has a nice voice and it's a good change of pace from the usual stuff we get from this list. I had a nice time with it. Fav Song: The Ballad of the Sackslingers
Waste of time!
Hm. This is interesting. Absolutely BIZARRE album to have ended up on this list (like, seriously, WHY is it here...) but I'm kind of into it... I want to hear this woman sing to me some more, and the instrumentation here really is great. Glad to have been given a reason to listen
Quite revolutionary. This music isn't my cup of tea but sounded pioneering for its time (1979). Respect.
Interesting album. I think it deserves to be on this list based on the bizarreness of the whole concept alone. Some it is hard to listen to, but it gets extra points for its creativity and themes. 2.5/5.0: Mixed
this was a tough listen. I appreciate the idea but its not for me
Really interesting, kind of reminds me of Bjork on some tracks. I have never heard of her but I really liked it and would listen again. The music is different seems kind of theatrical but it's really good and I enjoyed it very much. It's really interesting that I can get exposed to music that I have never encountered or would not have given a chance even if it was available. These are the kind of albums that I look forward to hearing on this list.
Weirdo stuff. Not my thing at all. Would rather have not even listened TBH. I didn't hate it like it didn't repulse me... maybe just too high-brow for me.
DNF at song 3
Musically, it sounds like better-than-average-community-theater. I get that the lyrics are something about German nazi guilt. And that's a really important message for the world, and particularly Americans, to hear right now. But if there's music playing, my frontal cortex can't focus on the meaning of words. My attention is always pulled back into the music - the harmonies and their progression, the melodies, the instrumentation, the performances . . . It's why I don't get the adoration for Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, musical theater, etc.
That was… unexpected. The way that my kids looked at me when they heard what I was listening to was worth the price of admission. I will be pulling this out whenever they try to make me listen to K-pop. The album has a real cabaret kind of vibe. I don't hate it but I'm not crash hot on it either, and I'm not confident that it would reward repeated listens.
Talented singer. Autistic German theater kid music. No thanks.
Мне кажется Гитлер бы кайфовал под это
Man, I understand why others don't like this, but I thought it was great. To be fair, I briefly went to school for vocal performance and had a focus on german opera. Even the accompaniment is fun to listen to on it's own, these songs are classics. The lyrics have a sardonic humor to them that really tickled me.
interesting but not really my jam
Art Rock, conceptual, revisionismo de vanguardia... expresiones que significan difícil de escuchar. Este disco no es una excepción.
didnt finish. def not for me
Kind of torture.
The Good: We get to play video-games! The Bad: Seems these tanks are not digital… The Ugly: How German doesn’t translate that well into English… It’s been 2 months since this album was presented to me, and I can’t recall why I did not rate it sooner… oh wait, maybe because you can’t find the freakin’ album anywhere as a streaming option? So today I decided to try my luck on the tube. and I found that someone does have the album, spit into side a and side b, I am guessing, listed. What I was kind of misisng would be the sound of a needle dropping on a vinyl record, followed by some soft wobbly-scratch-noise… I doubt that I will ever listen to this album again, yet I am glad that I did listen to it… why? Because of the constant flow of shit records which I have to listen to that don’t offer anything new… yes, I am referring to anything with the moniker “Dance, Electric, Tecno” to it. Dagmar doesn’t hold back in freaking you out with her voice… it isn’t bad, it isn’t pretty either, but I guess that is part of the cabaret style that she is giving to us. So, yes, something totally different, that I would never have listened to unless it would have been suggested to me via a 1001 album you need to hear before you die kind of thing… good for you Mr D, for once I will not want to punch you in the groin… 3*
this album was not on Spotify so checking it out on youtube...What is this a play? I'm liking the German in it. I miss learning German. hmm it kinda grown on you.
This is a collection of songs written by Hans Eisler and sung by Dagmar Krause. Eisler was a long time associate of Brecht in Berlin in the 1920s and early 30s, and the subject matter is mostly working class life from a socialist perspective. Not surprisingly the Nazis hated it, and both Brecht and Eisler were forced into exile in 1933. I mostly enjoyed these songs, but the English versions sounded a bit stilted and I think I preferred the German language originals on Panzerschlacht: Die Lieder von Hanns Eisler. The YouTube playlist seems to have a mix of both.
Unfortunately not available, but rated 3 just to complete
This album is not on any streaming platforms. This album is also one of the lowest rated in this project. I wasn't sure if these two facts are related or not. This album has very strong "Hitler's favorite artist" vibes about it. I am not saying Dagmar Krause is a Nazi, merely saying if the Gestapo wanted to torture prisoners through painful audio sounds, then this would be the music used to do so. Interestingly, Hanns Eisler was disliked by the Nazi party for his music. We can all find commonality in this world, I guess. I am not intending to be harsh. There is a subset of the world that probably really enjoys this music. 9% of individuals gave Tank Battles a 4 or 5 rating, so I feel confident the subset of the world who enjoys this music is not a large subset. I can't determine what itch this album scratches. It's very theater kids and bombastic, which is fine, but I'm not sure I needed to hear this one. I did not care for this album.
I guess I understand the historical importance of these songs, and maybe there's even a sort of ironical reason for them to be played and heard right now, but I do not prefer this music and don't understand how this landed on a list of albums to hear before I die. Would give less than 1 if I could.
Review - Now this is an interesting album I never would've listened to without this list. I like her voice, I like the vibe of the instrumentation and the history of looking into the composer. It's not an album I'd reach for on a regular basis though, and it's annoying I had to listen on YouTube Rating - 7/10 Need to hear? KINDA
Nope, this was not something I needed in my life. Listened a little over half the album on youtube, but it was just too inconvenient and «too much» to complete.
Well made, but not for me.
p598. 1988. 1 star. The sound of a failed German off-Broadway musical, with a singer channelling their inner Marlene/Sally Bowles. Nein. Found it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbYmWrfNJpQ
Loved the story behind the guy who composed those songs more than the songs themselves
Why not add something from Art Bears or Henry Cow at this point? This is a great album, but I really don't see how it deserves a place on this list.
The content of these songs is far more interesting than the packaging. Unfortunately, the packaging is extremely difficult to listen to.
wow that was really not my kind of music but it was worth listening to it and i mean LISTENING to it. War sucks. Lied Von Der Deutschen Mutter [Song of a German Mother] hits different. Also to that one guy here that gave 1 star because this album is in german: r/USdefaultism
No thank you
Not for me
Staat niet op spotify, wereldwijde ratings zijn slecht en ik zie dat het jazz is, dus ik vind het niet zo'n probleem
It helps to understand german, know Hans Eisler, kurt Tucholsky and Berthold Brecht and their importance. Most of the stars I give belong to them, they rock
With all due respect what the fuck is this. Some strange campy spoken word marxist poetry (that is a bit clunky an overbearing in translation from german) across strange melodies performed by some kind of big band?? This just mainly elicits confusion, I do appreciate they tried here but I do not think it's working. The genre is not for me, the over-the-head lack of lyrical grace isn't for me. There are better socialist genres out there
I’m sure it’s very well done. But not for me
if i was curating this list with some kind of idea of Accessibility, i admittedly might also struggle to pick an album to represent (or in this case more just Exist In The General Vicinity Of) the short-lived rock in opposition movement. this record theoretically makes sense as an onboarding one for the larger body of work, adapting slightly more conventional material than you would hear even in the more song-oriented approach of dagmar's band slapp happy, but if anything i think the slight resemblance to something recognizable might serve to alienate both normies and dedicated RiO weirdos, leaving this a bit of a weird pick for the list. that being said i rly loved it!!!!!!!!! dagmar's voice is less raw then the (decade-old at this point) slapp happy material, she's grown into a bigger fullness and stronger english enunciation, but many of her idiosyncrasies remain and enhance a lot of authentic feelings within her theatrical approach...she creates these unique waves of anger, passionate didacticism, grief, and even tenderness. her canvases are a huge selection of mostly very short and direct songs, not nearly as winding even as the simplest slapp happy tracks but allowing for a total clarity of whatever central idea and emotion each song is built around. every track illuminates its concept in perfect clarity and then usually will cut out abruptly, so for a fairly long listen theres plenty of opportunities for you to refresh your attention. if anything, the clarity serves it much better as "protest" music then the unapproachable walls of henry cow et al...its very expressive and moving stuff. i was inspired to throw on the 75 masterpiece desperate straights for the rest of my walk home after i finished this, which i hadn't heard in a while and which really blew me away all over again, so i have that to thank this album for too. and still, it really is loaded with charms entirely unique to itself!
Anbody rating this album 2 stars doesn't know shit about music. Like maybe before you open your moronic maw, and attempt to critique that which you cannot comprehend. Consider the fact that there may be no value in your worthless, uninformed opinion. Overall a fantastic piece if music, which laid the groundwork for many of my favorite bands. Absolutely beautiful instrumentation, in combination with the beautiful voice of Dagmar Krause, make for an unforgettable cabaret experience.
lil boring but it's not as bad as I thought
Non c’era
Nicht bei Amazon
Didn’t get to listen to the whole album but I listened to the club’s episode talking about it. Theatre musical and reminds me of the French policewomen in the Madagascar film that was going after the animals, even though the person was from Germany/Prague. Might give it a listen in the future.
Found this one on YouTube and honestly not sure how this album even ended up on this list. First one I couldn’t even finish.
Not on spoofy
Interesting but I couldn't finish it.
German beer hall
Wonderfully bizarre, cheekily fun, and incredibly well sung. Not my usual cup of tea, but pretty good stuff for an auld kraut
Luckily I had to listen to this on YouTube so I got to hear some Liberty Mutual commercials in between this cacophony.
Sort of found this on YouTube, as it's not available via Spotify. Sounds like German musical theater. She can sing, and there are orchestral flourishes, but it didn't really interest me.
Could not locate (and could not be arsed with youtube) found a couple of her other tracks and from reading between the lines on other reviews I doubt it would be my bag.
Tank Battles I’m sure that there is an audience for 1930s German Marxist Cabaret songs that aren’t by Kurt Weil, sung with lyrics in English by a strident German musical theatre lady, but I don’t quite think I'm it. It obviously doesn’t help that it's a YouTube listen, but even if it was easier to access I’m still not sure I’d fall in love with it. Having said that, I do admire its uniqueness, and I appreciate the artistic endeavour of showcasing a forgotten songwriter. Lyrically it is very interesting too, it makes a nice change of pace to hear songs about wheat harvests and welfare states, and something like Song of a German Mother is in fact very moving. It's also for the most part very well recorded, the tone of the horns in particular is lovely and warm, and it feels like it is genuinely evocative of what I imagine Weimar Republic cabarets sounded like. Although occasionally it does belie the time period it was recorded, with the guitar at the start of The Rat Men (although it could have been The Perhaps Song, as its hard to know ithe YT sometimes) However it boils down to a style of music I’m just not that keen on, a bit too oompah, a bit too musical theatre and it kind of puts me on edge, Bettellied in particular bothered me on that front. Happy to file this under ‘Glad I listened but it's not really my cup of gluwein’. 2. 🪖🪖 Playlist submission: Song of a German Mother
It's difficult not to associate 20s-era German music with erotic cabaret, and I'm not sure this is what Krausse is going for, notwithstanding the fact she is a handsome lady. The lyrics, often Brecht's, are more concerned with war, poverty, and hyperinflation (but then again who hasn't wanked off over seeing working men line up in black-and-white for their bread rations). Its so theatrical that it's difficult to warm to. But I can appreciate it without really liking it. That being said, the tracks regarding the tragedy of German mothers are all devastatingly observed and they have the biggest impact. For instance, 'Mother Beimleim' hits you like a Björk from the blue - a truly avant-garde piece, telling of a Mother's attempts to keep her family afloat by whoring, and going a little mad. The real power here remains in the stories being told rather than the delivery and the musical dressing. More than that, it's difficult to relate to lyrics set in the Weimar Republic about a country's slip into blind-fascism, following a deluded dictator who will surely lead them all to war. Isn't it? Well, isn't it?
I always enjoy listening to something completely new and innovative, but this really pushed my limits. I dont like concept albums and am not a fan of show tunes so i did not enjoy this. It avoids one star just for the effort that went into it.
Avant-Garde music from the circle of Brecht-Weill-Eisler is generally not for me - I just can't find anything aesthetically pleasing about it. But not all music is for everyone. And that's OK. 1.5/5
Alright, so there is more here to like than the global rating would have you think. There is diverse instrument play, and it sounds like the catchy background of an old history documentary...sorta. Then, it gets old fast, and it drags on approximately an hour. Almost like Nintendo 64 Rareware music, mixed with Nazi Music, and a woman's voice that just appears out of place throughout the entire album. Santa Claus gave me a lump of coal for Christmas. Favorite Track: "Bankenlied".
Album 999 of 1089 Tank Battles - Dagmar Krause (1988) Rating : 2 / 5 Listenable, but emotionally distant and not something I’ll return to. This one felt more like an experience than an album in the traditional sense - and for me, it was a pretty average one. The language barrier is real here. German just isn’t a language that stirs much emotion for me musically, and as a result, a lot of the tracks came across as tense or angry without much nuance breaking through. I can appreciate that this is likely intentional and meaningful to others, but it didn’t translate in a way that pulled me in. There’s nothing offensively bad here, but there also wasn’t much that made me want to lean in or revisit it. I listened, I took it in, and that was about it. This feels like one best appreciated by listeners already tuned into this style and presentation. For me, it’s one to acknowledge, set aside, and move on from.
Now that’s some interesting music. Very theatrical. Can’t decide if I like it, or not.
Astonishing, not by any means an easy listen but I'm glad I've been exposed to it.
Unexpectedly enjoyable despite being a style I've never really explored. Impeccable vocals and instrumentation. Interesting historical perspective as well.
Feels unfair to rate when I had to listen to a disjointed YouTube playlist; half in English, half in German. I liked the concept of it.
Weimar republic meets broadway
So this was a miserable listening experience. It took a lot of effort not to turn it off, and I was pretty abysmal through the whole thing. There was barely anything I could appreciate. Won’t be looking back at this album.
Not really my thing. It just ended up being background music. I’m sure if you dive deeper into the album, you could talk about how complex and sophisticated it is, but for me it was just background music.
I’m not sure what to make of this. A few interesting moments. The lyrics are interesting (no surprise, having been written by Bertolt Brecht). I might appreciate the music more if I were better versed in 20th century opera, but I didn’t find it that enjoyable.
Like Ute Lemper from before, but more Nazi. What is going on with you Krauts?
Kind of interesting I guess but I'm not that into this
Really not my thing
The cabaret style is going to be tough to stomach for a lot of people. I find it very interesting but since it's a style that I don't listen to, it's difficult to have a reference point to know if it's good or bad. Ultimately, it sounds like she is accomplishing the task she has set out to do and her voice sounds good. I can respect the effort.
Found it on YouTube. Wish I hadn’t. Sounds like music used in a comedy or circus music because of the emphasis of horns.
I liked the German songs much better, but I guess an album full if German song would be too much for 1001 albums.
Felt like every song that I kind of could get into was followed by something 180 from it. Not to mention the Youtube stream was very low quality which didn’t help the listening experience.
Þetta var hræðilega pirrandi eins og Nico.
I really like the theatricality of this record. It's an odd ball, but it goes big in all of the right ways for me. Also, the lyrics are pretty brutal, but fitting considering the subject matter. 3.5/5
Fun and weird album, but it did start to show its rough edges by the end. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it were only half as long, or maybe just the first half of the tracks (the songs are already only 1-2 minutes). That being said, any artist that gives me those vague Danny Elfman vibes is great. 3.5/5
Proletarier aller Länder vereinigt euch. Hat sicher seinen Platz in der Zielgruppe, mir war es etwas zu sehr "Arbeitskampf"-Folklore und "20er Jahre"-Sound
Was war das? Interessante und teilweise verstörende Reise.
5/10
Starting to realise there probably aren't many gems in the albums I can find on Amazon music, widely regarded stuff is probably going to find it's way on there. To be fair this does sound like a musical sound track, if you'd told me Les mis or cabaret was influenced by this that would make sense. However it was released in 1988, so well after all of that, so just a bit of an underwhelming copy of that sort of thing. Different to the rest of the list I suppose, not completely unlistenable, just not very good. 1.5.
Quite entertaining, she has an incredibly distinct voice. I struggled by the end - could feel an attack of the jazz hands. I don't think I've ever listened to an album like it - I would again, but it doesn't take away the bizarre experience. Some songs felt like I was stuck down a well, and a lady and accordion were shouting at me from above.
Found a YouTube playlist for this. Think it was the full album.... Well I don't think I've ever heard anything like it I suppose. Very theatrical. Some songs really work, but others really don't. I think the English tracks have been translated from German so it's almost like the lyrics are trying to be forced into the melody. It was quite interesting, I'll give it that. But I feel it's designed for the stage, not for just audio. Would never choose to listen again. 1.5
I was not ready for this. I do not know nearly enough about this genre to tell if this is a masterpiece, but both the arrangements and the lyrics seem fairly clunky. I think I would have preferred to hear this in german instead. I challenge anyone to actually enjoy "Mother Beimleim".
You Have to Pay
Not my jam
I feel like I'm missing critical history or context that I can't find which explains why this album was included on this list. In the absence of that information, I don't feel I can rate it higher or lower than middle of the road.
Some of the lowest rated albums on this generator are so perplexing to me, and this is one of them. People hate this? Is it because it's hard to find? And somewhat in German? I just don't get it. It's theatrical. Krause's voice is amazing. Made me wish we had some Broadway albums on here, but based on this I bet those would be rated very low. It's not my favorite thing ever, but her voice is phenomenal, the songs are still timely, and it's avant-garde but not in an off-putting way. I'd gladly have more of this on the list than British electronica. It's unique and definitely something I'm glad I heard before I died.
Not for me
I love a show tune, I took A-level German and I gave the Young Gods album four stars because I liked that there was an oompah/Kurt Weil-ish tinge to their industrial metal. So I feel like I should be the prime target for this but somehow I can’t see myself listening to it again.
Expected to hate it. Didn't love it by any means, but it was at least unique and kept my attention.
Man, entries like this on this list crack me up - largely unknown, not very well received (and in the case of this website, terribly received), sort of avant-garde, and obviously just a niche favorite of the list-designer's. I enjoyed this about as much as I enjoyed another dark cabaret album on this list, the one by Ute Lemper, except this one was less directly pleasant and more over-the-top, theatric, and kind of ridiculous in almost every way. So even though I felt like I was over this the second it started (it's just not my thing), I tried my absolute best to enjoy it. There's some charm here, and some of the instrumental ideas and general sonic direction are pretty neat, but it suffers primarily from the songs being way too short, like I just don't understand the choice behind that at all. There is zero breathing room for some of the better ideas here. 'Chanson Allemande' especially pissed me off with how short it was; it was a great ballad-type song that reminded me a lot of 'Alice' era Tom Waits in a lot of ways, and then it just ends like nothing.
Nicht wirklich mein fall.
Not broad enough.
Why in the world is this album on the list, especially when they know they have to piece it together on YouTube. This album is lamo.
Day696 - german sounding broadway wasn’t what i expected
She sems to have a decent voice, but I understand nothing and it gets chronically repetitive. Not my bag.
Not on spotify. Tough industrial noise sound
weird european stuff
I found this album (I think) on YouTube. It was very dramatic, but the recording was a little glitchy. This is absolutely not bad music, it's just very different from what the typical listener seeks out. Not sure how to rate it. If I was into some chick singing along in German and English to some orchestral shit, I'd slam this with five stars. But it's just me with a predilection for the predictable pop song structure.
Congrats on the Hat Trick, Prince!
Sinceramente, no tengo opinión. No he sabido en ningún momento de qué iba la cosa. Un disco excesivamente largo y en el que no me he orientado nunca.
Just wasn't in the mood for this today. Maybe another time I'd have enjoyed it more
Not sure what this even is. Bad show tunes?
WTF is this? 2*
Found a sample here if anyone is genuinely interested : https://youtu.be/Irmn9e2O-HQ?si=6ZwOAYFrFLqGvZKo failed to appreciate it.
I guess it would be more enjoyable to watch than just listen or even then listen. It was ok
I'm naturally predisposed to generosity towards albums that do something unique on this list, so take this as the damning indictment it is
I did manage to get through this one. That was challenging though. Not for me.
German music that sounds like it comes from a showtunes future universe.
Nice album! My gen
For those looking for this. While album is on YouTube
I didn't enjoy this very much, it sounded okay but the vibes weren't there, not what I look for in an album, not to mention it wasn't on streaming
What a strange album yet interesting at the very least. I was engaged the whole time even though its the opposite of what I like. Its all vocals and lyrics that I dont care much about and the backing music is sparse. I didnt love it or really even like it but I listened to the whole thing without wanting to turn it off. Sometimes I get a record where thats the truth but not here. Even though its not for me im still glad to have heard it. I won't hear it again but once was not too bad
couldn't find this anywhere
I'll give points for the Eisler/Lang connection. I found myself drawn more towards learning about Eisler than enjoying Krause's renditions of them.
Insane cooking in this album. I don’t know how I can knock anything for it.
i mean i get why hanns eisler songs are worth listening to before you die (starkly anti-fascist, had to flee germany, a real blue-collar composer, etc.) but i don't know why *this* album is worth listening to before you die. this is a cool history lesson, not a great album. i reject the notion that there's some metanarrative to understand regarding this album or even music like it; i'm further unconvinced that dagmar krause's attempts at anglicizing this music are worth the effort. like, it's fine, but if you're at all familiar with 20th century german composition (i promise you're more familiar than that phrasing makes it sound; everyone is), you know what you're gonna hear. it isn't terrible at all, it just isn't as interesting as the history of the composer himself. *why* is this one here?
What a wild ride. I had a stressful day at work while listening, and I genuinely thought I was going into psychosis at some points. I saw several comments around the internet of a version of this project where all the songs were in their original German form, and I think that would have been better than what we got. As a non-German speaker, I still preferred the songs that were sung in German. Maybe I just didn’t like the lysis that I could understand very much, but it also seemed more fitting with the music. Something about the whole experience tells me that it would be awesome in a live setting. As an album and while having to move around in the real world, not so much. 2.5
Alternate title: Working Nein To Five Dramatic, theatrical singing over old German military marches? What’s next, rapping over some John Philip Sousa? My ears didn’t enjoy this one. But the audacity of this album is inspiring, go out there and create some bizarre, nuanced shit. “For the PlayStation 3 video game known as Tank Battles in some regions, see Battle Tanks.”
I paused for a couple of days as I didn't think I had the energy to figure this one out. Good voice, songs would be better in a musical.
I found this on YouTube Umm, I am not sure what this is exactly. Sounds like a soundtrack to a musical, spoken word poetry, a bard speaking singing about events or just the crazy lady in town running around singing and scaring the children. She was full of emotion and even when I couldn't understand her I could feel the feelings and it went well with the music. Just really not something I ever plan to listen to again.
Too bad this isn’t available on streaming services. I trotted over to YouTube and there it sits as a rather cumbersome listen if you have to suffer ads. I enjoyed its overt German-ness. It sounds like a pre-WWII cabaret. Some of the songs are super short, so as a new listener it is easily digestible but the project is, of course, entirely too long. Based on vibes alone, I feel like I’d come back to some of this if it were more readily available.
The description says this isn't available to stream, but I found it on YouTube. The songs are a little out of order, but it's there. It's been a minute since we had an album on the lowest rated list. It was definitely unconventional, but I didn't think it was THAT bad. It was very theatrical and not something I'd listen to again, but it had interesting moments, and I appreciate the passion she sings with. It definitely went on too long though, and I got tired of it, which ended up bringing it down a star.
Couldn't listen to it, so.......
There's obvious musical talent here, but I doubt it will ever grace my ears again.
Despite spending my last highschool year as a musical theatre nerd (if I joined MT in grade 10, I would have been a WAY less miserable young man), I'm lukewarm on any musical I didn't grow up with. On the other hand, I have more time of day — at least in theory — for this sort of interstitial early-20th-century-vaudeville fusion that owes a tremendous amount to Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel and probably a German tradition I'm completely unaware of. I'm done with it, but it makes me want to watch WWII documentaries in an abiding desire to better understand a pivotal moment to our present world, and a mighty determiner in my family's history.
I couldn’t find this specific album on Spotify, so I just listened to about 15 songs by this artist….very odd. My initial thought was this is terrible but after a few songs I didn’t mind them as much
This is very different to the norm on here, I’ll give it an extra star for that. Not available on streaming services so I headed to YouTube for this one where initially I thought it was less than 30 minutes but alas, it was in 2 parts. It’s quite theatrical but evokes 1920s Berlin well. She has a good, distinctive voice, flipping from English to German, but overall this is simply not something I have enjoyed.
What in the hell was that. Not awful sounding but I feel like I watched a play in the lobby.
I listened to the 1994 re release with extra tracks. The sound quality was great, the energy and vocals were great. I think something like this belongs on the list, but I probably wouldn't seek it out again. I found it enjoyable, but my mind would often drift with the tracks not sounding that different. This would probably be better consumed with some sort of visual element.
COULDN'T LISTEN, NOT ON SPOTIFY
The lyrics should not be English, and why each song is that short?
This is a lot more enjoyable than I would've guessed.
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would
It's not terrible so far. Some interesting musical moments and lyrics of course. But it's not great. A bit worried. Only 9 minutes in a hour long record. I do enjoy her voice quit a bit i must say. 5 and 7 my favorite so far. 11 strong as well. First part is behind. Will come back later Okay I'm back. A weird German song to start the second half. It's hard to explain but this songs have an effect on you. Mother's Hands is special. The wise woman special as well. The rat man is crazy. This generator gives one the opportunity to listen to albums here would never hear about otherwise, for sure not listen to otherwise, and perhaps never listen to again. I was very skeptical about this one But it deserves a 2.5. It surprised me, made me think, and thrilled me almost all the way through. But I don't think I'm coming back to it soon;-). So it's 2.5 but a special one. Because I'm going to give it a 3. That's what I want to do and it's my life.
Hate to 'punish' the album for being hard to find but it is really difficult to appreciate when peppered with YouTube ads and I swear the tracklisting I found was far longer than the standard album. The book says this one is under 40 minutes but I swear I was waiting for it to end for well over an hour. Maybe someone had added bonus tracks, maybe it had that many ads in it or maybe it just felt like that because it was a boring and repetitive listen. Some good atmospherics in the instrumental side, I'll give it that. But her voice is rough and I just did not enjoy the theatrics at all.
Not really my jam but she has a good voice.
Album is not on Spotify, listened to some via YouTube.
I had never heard of Dagmar Krause, and prior to listening to this album if asked I might have guessed that she was an East German gymnastics coach who hydrated her athletes with pigeon blood and won 200 gold medals between 1974 and 1987, when she was shot for treason for eating a Whopper Jr. (no pickles). Crazy that I would have been mostly right. Also, weirdly, today a woman came up to me in the subway and said, "I am Dagmar." I mean, I know her. But it was still kind of weird. Also, I hate this album. It's awful.
This isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard but really wouldn’t listen again. A bit too avant garde for me, 2.25/5. Certainly not my least favorite from the project
Could only find this on YouTube https://youtu.be/PkPvS85L998?si=EhYAku6mDeKdQS4Z Sounds like a soundtrack to a film, opera or even a comedy sketch in places. Quite like her vocal but not really my cup of tea.
09/11/2025 This was not the easiest find or the easiest listen.
My favorite part of this album was the few seconds when YouTube started playing an ad with music before I realized it wasn't the next track of the album.
Når folk ikke klarer å høre forskjell på avant garde og pastiche... Med unntak av noen elektriske instrumenter, kunne dette kommet ut i 1920. Det er grenser på hvor langt man kan nå med denne stilarten, og selv om det er spor av interessante elementer her og der, så ligger det for det meste et sted mellom kjedelig og irriterende.
Cabaret med forferdelig polert 80s sound. Bra det var korte låter, men synd det var så mange av dem.
Spennende! Liker veldig godt hvordan de har inkorperet nye lyder i en orkestersammenheng. Lydene høres intergrert ut i sounden, selvom de til tider er ganske out there. Liker dette veldig godt, men det mangler bittelitt mer edge før det får femmeren
Kinda cool
Interesting but not for me (found on youtube, not in Spotify)
Wow, what a weird album to be included. If you have me an afternoon I think I could get pretty close to naming 1001 other albums that should be on this list that aren’t. Also, I don’t pay for YouTube so getting an ad between every song is kind of a pain. That’s not Dagmar’s fault, but having 1:30 long songs all over this album is. If you can make it passed Mother Beimleim I salute you. DNF.
Couldn't listen to it on Spotify. There is a version on YouTube but it's quite unlistenable because it glitches every few seconds. From what I heard, it sounds like an impressive feat.
not on any streaming platforms
I did not enjoy this
Gotta leave Spotify for this one. The title reminds me of playing Battle Tanx on N64 at Tyler Pinders house. Hmm... we've got 58 minutes of this eh? Is this intended as a musical? Like I feel like I should be watching actors on stage. Why can't I find more info about the story here? One critic called Tank Battles "worthy" and said that the vocals were "stunning" and instrumental "impeccable". I'm definitely stunned. One Youtube commenter said of Track 5 "this is important" Mother Beimleim is actually really sick. I would have made this the lead single. Song of a German Mother - an commenter on Youtube "These are the most ridiculous lyrics I have ever heard". But this song is heartbreaking. The vocal performance is overly dramatic and feels pushed sure - but it's the grief and guilt of a mother who realized she'll never see her son again after he joins up? "Ridiculous" is a wildly unfair criticism of these lyrics. The further I get into it the album the more I'm appreciating it. But at the same time I'm starting to get pretty fatigued by it. And a few songs later I kinda just want it to end. It's not getting worse.. it's very consistent.. too consistent haha. Just more of the same. But then I get woken up by a lyric like this on Ballad Of (Bourgeois) Welfare: "they take care of the pregnant woman when the need a class to work.." And a legitimately interesting shift into an uptempo section. "You get the soup and they get the marrow" Mothers Hands - this is beautiful and heartbreaking at it's core. It's really just the presentation I don't like. The youtube artwork for The Wise Woman and The Solider is hilarious in contrast to the music. This song is boring. Hit an very out of place ad for a Conestoga College video game design program. THE RAT MEN!!!! wtf is this sexy ass saxophone doing here??? We're kind of just re-hashing a LOT of the same themes here. Not a whole lot of development happening after a certain point. And then it ends with a minute long song written to a radio. I only searched quickly but wish I could find out more about why this album was made or any sort of story behind it. I would be more into this if it was part of a larger musical performance, but I can't say I'm into it musically as a stand-alone album. That being said.. It's easy to laugh at but I don't think it's objectively bad by any stretch of the imagination. There's a lot of beauty and tension and the arrangements are well thought out even if it's presented in a way that I typically strongly dislike (musical soundtracks). It's long and becomes tedious rather quickly. This album is like a bowl of cold Borscht - I personally don't understand how anyone could like it, it's boring, and it makes me feel like I'm hiding from the Red Army. But it serves a purpose.
Tim Burton probably like this shit. I started off thinking I was gonna hate this but honestly at times made me very curious. There’s something here. If there were less music in the world I might try harder to follow that curiousity lol. Some of the melodies/chord progressions took me off guard. Like moments of woah that was cool but then I’m brought back out. The weird theatrical vocal delivery isn’t something I gravitate toward but then again I love Kate Bush and Prefab Sprout and somehow those don’t seem completely dissimilar. I realize I actually have a couple tracks of her other project Slapp Happy saved. Some cool stuff there. BTW John Harle on sax - he served as Paul McCartney’s artistic advisor?!?! But more importantly dad to Danny L Harle (PC Music, AG Cook collaborator) which is wild loll
Weird as shit Stravinsky arrangements/melodicism Bizarro world show tunes Not sure if I’m going to make it through this one It’s making me question my commitment to finishing listening through all of these albums or if there is a reasonable cutoff point of acceptance There ARE some very nice woodwind arrangements on this. Ultimately this is probably something I would listen to if it were presented as purely German instrumental classical music. Though that applies to most musicals/operas, take the vocals out and I like it 10x more Wow ripping fusion guitar lead randomly on lied von der belebenden Truly the instrumental passages are lovely for the most part. Some very nice woodwind and brass passages. The segments that feel more like traditional European ‘dance’ music are not for me. I love that stuff in the right cultural context but this is not it Dear god there’s a whole other side of the record Truly a torturous listen. What an experience this is turning out to be
Weird and interesting. Hard to understand. Probably more of a classical music piece, so maybe not a great candidate for this list. Challenging but once I got into it, I warmed up to it. YouTube without lyrics was a rough way to hear this.
I think a lot of the reviews are unfair. Sure, this is not something any of us even could fathom to listen, but taking on the 1001 albums exercise is precisely why I myself have taken it up - to broaden my musical experiences and to listen to something that I'd never even consider searching out for myself.
This was a really hard one to rate It wasn't a bad album. She had a nice voice, and it was completely fine as background noise The problem with it was that it sounded like a musical. Which is fine if it actually was a musical soundtrack. It was also way too long - and seemed longer because the songs were so short 2 ⭐️
vond ik boven alle verwachtingen goed.. beetje soort kruising van Nina Hagen en Diamanda Galas met cabaret als achtergrond
I feel like I'm listening to Cabaret lol. Dagmar Krause has a beautiful, expressive voice. It's not often that we get featured solo alto voices. Interesting songs: Chanson Allemande, The Perhaps Song, And I Shall Never See Again, The Trenches. Song of a German Mother was an extremely haunting and sad ballad. I was not expecting nor ready for the saxophone that showed up on The Homecoming, but it definitely added an interesting element to the song. I'd be curious to see what she sounds like in her groups Slapp Happy and Henry Cow.
Not available on Spotify. Gave it a listen on YouTube. So German cabaret music translated into English. Not my jam.
"Oh, you think you know music? Well, I bet you never heard of Tank Battles by Dagmar Krause. You can't call yourself a music connoisseur without knowing this one."
It doesn't surprise me that there's a Brecht-written album on the list, but it *does* surprise me that it's not that Lotte Lenya/Kurt Weill one! I'd never heard of Eisler or Krause before, and I'm still not really sure what the list compiler heard in this one. I'm just not the right person to be listening to art lieder, I suppose.
Won’t get that 25 minutes back
the biggest eh
did-not-listen
A strange and interesting musical curio, the German language version of the album sounds better.
wtf guys this rocks! weirdo takes on Weimar-era German pop standards. kind of brilliant despite being a covers album. i suppose when you have the Henry Cow connection, you're not gonna be the type to play these songs straight. but very nice and rather good at fitting in the Waitsian niche of jaded reimaginations of cobwebbed and time-yellowed pop music. the one where she sings Brecht is probably even better tbh. deserves to be one of the 1001? ehhh... maybe a different thing in this vein. deserves to be one of the bottom 20? i suppose something has to fit down there. a shame all the most interesting ones fall into the abyss but hey! this website hates fun!
basically unlistenable
Interesting interpretation and story behind the songs. Touching, but didn't make me feel anything musically-wise other than respect for the singer and the composer.
I only listened to 3 tracks, but I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe it’s not for me. If this is one of the “1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die,” then there must be thousands of other albums that deserve a spot too.
I really don’t feel this style works as something simply to listen to. It’s theatrical and dramatic and cabaret style and needs to be experienced in that context. No doubting that her voice and the musicians are great but it’s not something I would ever choose to listen to out of context again. 2.5
Holy fuck this is beyond terrible. I’d rather be slowly run over by a tank than be subjected to this musical cabaret. Talented vocalist and musicians, but overall a hot steaming pile of dog shit. I can’t imagine why anyone would listen to this.
very artistic and very, unapologetically... german art music. even as it's sung in english. the music was originally written by hanns eisler, who wrote the east germany national anthem. it's like a musical from a hellish, otherworldly planet, flames and castles surround the actors wearing versailles masquerade party ensembles... thankfully it's not pure audio nonsense or sludge, it's still very listenable but it IS avant-garde in the truest sense of the word. VERY perplexing and enthralling listen to me, maybe you'll be thrown off at least a dozen times but you won't be able to turn it off. it's too weird for music streaming services, i guess.
People whose favorite video game is The Last of Us be like: "Like a rejected musical coming to haunt me" This 1001 Album project will unfortunately likely rarely have any through composed, chromatic heavy, or heavy use of orchestral instruments, which is what much music was until into the 20th century. Listening to this "album" is a good reminder at how much even well composed and varied contemporary popular music can still branch out, as time marches on and music gets more streamlined in an effort to distill music into things that top charts. And how people should be exposed to more music that isn't just something to nod along to.
Like a rejected musical coming to haunt me
Even though I don't understand German, I think I preferred the numbers that the artist sung in her native tongue to those performed in English. Some interesting story-telling on this album, but the music is definitely not my bag, and I'd be unlikely to listen to it again.
Not available on apple music
This is the kind of stuff that I wanted to discover through this project. A beautiful orchestration with theatrically performed Marxist lyrics. Hell yeah! It helps that it was both harrowingly beautiful and emotionally touching throughout.
We'll never know if we can't listen!
- Interesting to hear from a historical perspective. is it something that i would put into regular rotation? probably not. Does it have value? Absolutely. It's a high quality project that is probably not for everyone but important is important to hear and acknowledge. -
What fresh hell is this!? There have had some odd choices on this list, but this one is in a category all to itself. Absolutely jarring from start to finish. I hated every minute.
I’d never heard of Dagmar Krause or this album before today—and it turned out to be quite a challenge to even track down! After all that effort, I was really hoping it would be worth the hunt. The best way to sum up Tank Battles is “unique.” There aren’t any traditional songs here that you’d sing along to or even tap your foot with. Instead, it’s a strange, theatrical, and often jarring collection of performances. At times, it sounds more like a dark cabaret soundtrack or a set of eccentric sketches than a conventional album—some tracks even reminded me of parody songs from The Simpsons. That said, Krause’s vocals are powerful and utterly distinctive—like a German PJ Harvey performing a wartime opera. The instrumentals are intricate and well crafted, but overall, this isn’t an album I enjoyed or would listen to again. Still, I’m glad I gave it a go—it’s unlike anything else I’ve encountered on this list, and I learned a lot about Krause and the influences behind her work. Favourite track: “Ballad of the Slackersingers.” I might even suggest my daughter’s school add it to their harvest festival playlist next year. Least favourite track: “Mother Beimlein” — short, creepy, and genuinely unsettling (like a few other songs on this album). Album artwork: I actually really like the cover—it’s striking and perfectly fits the album’s eccentric tone.
I didn't understand a thing
26.03.26 klo 10, toimisto, earpods, qobuz tän takia varmaan jäi haaste kesken. nyt taas korvat alkaa olla kondiksessa ja vastaanottavaisina. levyn innoittamana wikipedian kahluuta itäsaksasta, hanns eisleristä, schönbergistä yms. hyvä seikkailu!
This style of music inspired the musical Cabaret, which I genuinely like. I couldn't get into this album though. I think it'd work better with more full instrumentation or if I heard it live in a small venue. I also bet the German version of this album sounds better. It's almost there.
Not being available on Spotify - or on any streaming platform, as far as I could tell - I had to track down a YouTube playlist. I'm so glad I did. This is a remarkable album from start to finish: the songs may be short, but their impact is immense. Lyrically provocative, brilliantly arranged, and featuring that incredible voice! It’s not easy listening by any stretch, but then, anything truly worth hearing rarely is. Absolutely deserving of its place on this list.
Holy hell this is weird. And I am here for it. I am not sure I would put this on my regular listen list or anything but I really love how off the wall this is. It's almost like what I would assume Klingon opera would actually sound like.
I got halfway through the second song before I turned it off. No intention on revisiting.
A very different kind of album for sure - definitley not a pop album by any definition. A rendition of Weimar cabaret translated to English. It's an admirable project with some great very dramatic performances. Although it's not really something I'd ever want to put on, it could be cool to see live and learn more about the music/lyrics and the context of their creation as well as the context of this rendition. Definitley sounds like a German of a certain generation grappling with what their parent's generation did.
Ugh why?
Nope
jag förstår inte… jag hatar inte det men jag förstår inte heller
Fascinating. Fascinating...
I am reminded of Punishing Kiss which I first heard three years ago at album #55. Tank Battles is not something I would normally come across in my casual listening but I was engaged in the songs and the performances throughout.
Found a couple songs on YouTube. Gross
She has a great voice but I am missing quite a lot of context with this one and the theatrical presentation is not my style.
Pretty sure in the very first song, she sang “The bricks have farted”... by song two I couldn’t listen to it any more. Lyrics are terrible and cringe, the singing is terrible… How does shit like this make the list?
26 songs by German composer Hanns Eisler sung by Krause in English. 80s Jazz. Very theatrical. Very strange.
5 stars for being weird. Unfortunately, that is not the measure for rating the albums here. That said, I don't regret listening to it; I just won't listen to it ever again.
I don't hate it. I don't hate it. "Look, there's a new crack started, even the bricks have farted." lmao
Interesting.
Wasn't able to listen.
I didn’t really get the appeal and also I couldn’t listen on Spotify :(
Garbage
Could not find this album
Not music I'd listen to for fun, but pretty nice to have listened to once
Like it, not love it
Lmfao. What the actual fuck. I could get behind this if it was intended to be avant-garde opera. I can dig some Schönberg. But this isn't that. They're brief little nuggets of moderately atonal German crap. And by the way, Ms. Krause's voice is nothing to shake a stick at. No wonder you can't find this on Spotify. Jesus.
I love Dagmar Krause's voice and this style of Weimar songwriting. I'm not sure the songs are supposed to be packed in like sardines into one collection like this. If I get access to it other than on YouTube I'd pick away at it piecemeal. My only real quibble is I'd like a Dagmar era Henry Cow album on the list. In Praise Of Learning probably.
Couldn’t find this one, so I listened to some of their other stuff. Wish I hadn’t bothered.
The guy who said this is better than Let England Shake might be the stupidest dude on here. Ah yep, their favourite album is Aja. Moron.
The instrumentation was good but I don’t have much connection with German music.
Sehr interessantes Album schwer zu finden nur auf YouTube habe leider nur geschafft die Hälfte zu hören Björk vibes ist aber mehr auch ein Musical als einzelne Songs Lore dahinter ist Crazy bewerten wir aber nicht mit deswegen nur eine 3 Best song: Chanson Allemande Rating: 2,7
A great voice for sure, sound like it is a very significant piece of history but for sure I will not listen again this album 2/5
No idea what to say about this one..
Been avoiding this one 'cause listening to it would involve getting off my lazy ass and moseying on down to the YouTube search bar. This album has a pretty sweet album cover, though I've no clue what to expect from the actual music. I know the Germans were going nuts with punk music in the 80s, so I feel as though that's my best bet. Wow, a real oddball pick. I suppose this is a jazzy album cover, too. The music isn't bad, though what really hurts this album are the track lengths. It's difficult to feel an investment in this music when nearly two-thirds of the songs on this album are under two minutes in length. Still, there's a simple pleasure to this music that I found myself enjoying. "The Ballad of the Sackslingers" is a decent tune. I like the changing tempos, and the storyline it tells is pretty entertaining. "Mother Beimlein" is an unusual tune. Can't say I like it all that much, though I appreciate how Dagmar's unique vocals are paired with a suspenseful instrumental to create a strange atmosphere. "The Perhaps Song" has a pretty good instrumental. I dig the soothing brass and how it contrasts with the malignant guitars. "Bettellied has some good vocals and a decent violin instrumental to boot. "The Rat Men - Nightmare" is pretty strange and avant-garde, but I dig it. I like those ambient, ominous guitars, and the thudding, suspenseful percussion isn't half bad, either. "Song of a German Mother" is pretty good. Beautiful piano, and Dagmar's vocals are at their best - very mournful. Book time. A whole lotta nothing in there beyond the production being good and Dagmar Krause being a good vocalist. Wikipedia doesn't have much in there, either. Yeah. I'm thinking of snubbing this one, which sucks as I'm generally favourable to the inclusion of world music. Wish I knew a really good German album to assume the position of this one, though I sadly only know of Kollaps. I humbly submit Third Eye Blind by Third Eye Blind for inclusion on this list.
This was a pain to find and it really wasn't worth the effort; truly awful. One star seems fair for clunky show tunes in broken English. Actually painful to listen to.
Reviewed - 17th Oct 2025 The guy who said this is better than Let England Shake might be the smartest dude on here. Ah yep, their favourite album is Aja. Fucking legend.
OK.
Eeeee no me disgustó
weird german political cabaret. Interesting voice but way too long
Had to hunt for this, shouldn’t have bothered. Ancient German songs sung in English by a woman with a horrible voice.
The whole album is here - https://archive.org/details/0627_dagmar_krause_tank_battles_1988__mlib/09+-+Mankind.flac As someone living at the end of America’s Weimar Republic this shit hits close to home.
First one in 732 I could not finish. Having to go to YouTube and it just being awful was too much. WTF!